[Oldernewbie]

I'm a new driver (was student at Werner for 4 weeks but bailed out, for a lot of reasons). I have an offer to go SE Regional with STAR Transportation (Nashville). Money much better than Werner, supposedly home 36 - 48 hours every week.

Anybody have any info, + or -, on STAR?

That was my first company...not to bad of a place...they do actually get you home on the weekends, that part is definitely true.

[BigDawg]

it used to be an alright company till Coveant bought them out about 2 months or so ago,don't know how they will be now.

[ken_o]

i worked their for years hope you dont like sleepn their pay was shtty to say the least even whn i got a new truck it wasnt carrot enough for me to stay. but mayb thev changed in the last year or so, i highly doubt it since beth&gang sold out to covanent.
You know you wake up one morning and hope youl be bought out by fedx ups, nope you end up workin for covanent ouch star drivers.
i never waited so much in my lifetime as that first year or so at star. the last year or so was ok home every single weekend . their freight sucked for se heavy loads and alot of them.mayb look elsewhere but if your choice was werner or star id say star. keep lookin youl findsomethin.

[1xtruckindj]

I actually worked for Star on three different occassions. I can honestly say the the first time, I should not have left, and the third, I should not have returned.

During the latter part of my first and all my second stint, I had the best fleet manager I could have hoped for. He'd bust his butt for you, and did not forget a favor you would do for him. He got promoted, and my time with them dipped significantly in terms of quality.

I personally would be hesitant of returning to Star, now that their under the Covenant banner, as previously mentioned. But if they're running as a separate company with basic autonomy, then I might consider them.

You could do far worse. Best wishes to you!

[usdyver]

I have been at Star for a year and I can say that 99% of the time it has been a great place to work.

ken_o say the freight sucks but freight is freight no matter where you go. We all get heavy loads. My average weight for loads over the last 6 months has been 28000. Ive heard this "freight sucks" reasoning from him in the past and it isnt a valid argument. Every trucking company on the planet has heavy loads. We all cant haul plastic bottles or run empty for 500 miles. Sometimes we have to haul the bulk paper or the bottled water. you can argue company A or company B has better frieght but all companies get heavy freight. Its a part of the industry and it has to be hauled no matter whether we like it or not.

As far as the Covenant buyout we havent seen any changes in the way things are done. They arent running the company but they just want to own it. they have done the same with other companies. It seems to be a trend in the industry to buy money making compaines and let them continue.

I have a 2007 Freightliner and I average 3000 miles a week, I'm home every weekend I want to be home and I can run extra if I want the miles.

In my first year here I will make about $48000 for 2006 not too shabby.

My fleet manager is upfront with me and gets me the loads, the miles, and home when I want. He often calls me and asks me if I want a load before he preplans it to me. I have turned down loads with no bad feelings from dispatch.

i have been going to see my Dr on a Monday about every 6 weeks. my fleet manager has a load ready for me as soon as Im done at the Dr. Instead of being punished for starting the week at noon he works hard to find me loads to allow me to have a full week even if i dont roll out until late in the afternoon.

The pays is on time and right 99.9% of the time. The direct deposits are there on time. If you turn in your trip packs on time the checks are right.

Its like any cpmany, it isnt the right fit for everyone but for me and a lot of others its a good place to work.



The draw backs are;

Night Dispatch is mostly worthless (This is an indutry problem)

Insurance could improve (Every comapnies insurance seems to suck anymore but there is room to improve at Star)

Shop in Nashville is slow (Its actually been better in the last month and a small shop has been added in Knoxville and a new terminal in Jacksoin, MS)

The SE Regional gets lots of short runs, if i were to hire on here I would only want OTR, it isnt much different but the runs are longer and you go to the NE more.

Fuel only at selected Pilots (It limits food and showers but they have great showers and lousy food)

Are we talking about the red Star or the blue Star?

[1xtruckindj]

Blue Star out of Nashville, TN.

usdyver is very accurate, I believe, in his comments. It sounds very similar to when I left almost three years ago.

[ken_o]

usdyver
it is a valid arguement when iv picked up that shty freight star hauls around . when you move on to another carrier youl soon figure out that their are some other carriers who dont tolerate the same crp tht star has their drivers put up with.
believe me dude youl enjoy not having to turn your ppwrk in at a term and being able to scan it in at any truckstop. youll also enjoy what other carriers have to offer in terminals . do you know whats really nice in the last year or so i did not go to ralston purina once nor did i venture over to grab some gatorade at 1635 nor did i have to go to a nissan plant.
you know when you run into old star drivers and they tell you they had to draw the line at 4days with no sleep and you think wow i could only make it to 3. all the missippi fast freight trucks r now star trucks how long did it take about a year or so i feel sorry for you about covanent.
and wish you continued success at star/covanent.

[ken_o]

some more advice for you usdyver when you switch and sooner or later you will , dont log the star way, th sht wont fly at other compnys. i know it almost got me fired within the first 3 weeks at roehl.
is frank is still around in knox??